Operating-valve for compound engines.



C. F. PRESCOTT'& H. R. STAFFORD.

' OPERATING VALVE FOR COMPOUND ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 15, I917.

Patented Sept. 17,1918.

' llll'll oHARLEs I. PREsooTT, or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, AND HAL R. sTnrr'oRD, 0F

PLAINFIELD, NEW JE sEY.

OPERATING-VALVE FORCOMPOUND ENGINES.

Specification'of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 15, 1917. Serial No. 202,184. i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES F. PRES- oo'r'r, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, and HAL R. STAF- Form, of Plainfield, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have jointly in-. vented a certain new and useful Improvement in Operating-Valves for Compound Engines, of which improvement the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to manually actu ated valve devices, known as operating valves or simpling valves, which are applied in compound locomotives of the nonautomatic type, for changing the operation of the engine from compound to simple, and vice versa, by effecting the admission of pressure to, or release of pressure from, a piston which is connected to the intercept ing valve of the engine, and thereby causing the opening or closure, as the case may be,

. nected by bolts, 2, and nuts, 2 A down of a passage from the high pressure cylinder or cylinders to a separate exhaust pipe, and the coincident closure or opening, as the case may be, of a passage from the high pressure cylinders to a receiver pipe. r 7

Theobject of our invention is to provide a valve device of'the type above specified, which, in addition to the performance of the functions stated, when manually actuated, will, regardless of'the position in which it may beset, automatically, operate to change the working of the engine from compound to simple, coincidentally with the closure of the throttle valve, and the resultant cessation of steam supply to the engine.

The improvement claimed is hereinafter fully set forth. In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a vertical central section through an operating valve mechanism embodying our invention; Fig. 2, a similar section, taken at a right an le to Fig. 1; Fig. 3,-a plan or top view, and ig. 4, a horizontal section, on the line m a: of Fig.

In the practice of our invention, referring descriptively to the specific embodiment thereof which is herein exemplified, we provide a valve casingwhi'ch comprises a piston chamber,'1; a valve chamber 1*; and a cap, 1 which closes the top of the valve chamher, said members being detachably conward extension, 1, of smaller diameter, is formed on the'piston chamber, 1, to which itis open at its top, and a bushing, 3, having upper ports, 3*, and lower ports, 3 formed inits wall, is fitted in the extension, 1. A passage, 4, isformed in the valve chamber, 1?, and a pipe, 4 leading from the dry pipe orsteam supply pipe ofthe locomotive, on which the appliance is installed, between the throttle valve and the cylinders, is connected to the passage, 4, Apassage, 5, which communicates with the lower ,ports,.3 of the bushing, 3, is formedinthepiston chamber extension, 1, and another passage, 6, which communicates with the upper ports, 3270f the bushing. A'pipe, 25,.leading tothe pis ton chamber of an intercepting valve mechanism, is connected to the passage, 5, and an exhaust pipe, 6?, leading to a suitable point ofdischarge, is connected tothe pipe, 6. A continuously open pipe, 7, leading from the steam space of a boiler, isconnected to the lower end of the piston chamber extension, by a coupling nut, 7 f. I

A flat valve face, l is formed on the top of the valve chamber, l an'd a supply port, 8, extends from said valve face into the top of the piston chamber, 1. Anexhaust port, 9, leads from the valve face into the exhaust passage, 6. A disk valve, 10, which seats on the valve face,'1 is fitted freely on'a bearing pin, 11, fitted intheftop ofothe. valve chamber, and is adapted to be moved, in either direction, about the axis of the bearing pin, by an operating handle, 12, connected to the upper end of a valve stem, 12, which passes through -'the cap, 1 of the valve casing, and engages the valve, 10, at its lower end. Aport, 10?, extends through the valve, and a segmental exhaust cavity, 10 is formed on its lower side, said cavity being of suflicient length to establish, in one position of the valve, communication be- Patented Sept. lama.

tween the supply port, 8, and the. exhaust accessible to the engineer, by a pin, 16, which is fixed in the side of the piston chamber, andiis adapted to pass through a suitable supporting bracket, to which it is secured. by a nut, 16, engaging a thread on its outer end portion. The cap, 1 is marked to indicate the positions of the operating lever for compoiurd and simple operation of the engine, respectively.

In operation, the parts being in the position shown in the drawing, and the supply port, 8, therefore being open, the piston, 13, is subject to pressure from the dry pipe, on its upper side, and is thereby forced to its lowest position, in which the connected piston valve 15, opens the lower ports, 3", of the bushing, and thereby establishes communication, through said ports and the upper ports, 3, between the pipe, 25, leading to the intercepting valve operating piston of the engine and the exhaust pipe, 6. The intercepting valve piston being thereby relieved from pressure, the intercepting valve is held in position for compound operation. l/Vhen it is desired to operate as a simple engine, the operating handle is moved into position to close the supply port, 8, to the valve chamber, 1 and establish communica tion between said port and the exhaust pipe, through the exhaust cavity, 10", and port, 9. The pressure which holds the piston, 13, in its lowest position being thereby released, the boiler pressure on the piston valve, 15, raises said piston valve and the connected piston, 13, cutting ofi" communication, through the bushing ports, 3 and 3, between the pipe, 25, and the exhaust pipe, and establishing communication, through the lower bushing ports, 3*, between the pipe, 25, and the boiler steam pipe, 7. Steam being thereby admitted to the intercepting valve piston, through the pipe, 25, said piston moves the intercepting valve into position for simple operation.

Upon closure of the throttle valve, and irrespective of the position into which the handle of the operating valve has been placed by the engineer, the supply of steam from the dry pipe to the valve chamber, 1*, through the pipe, P, is cut off, and the constantly' acting pressure from the boiler, through the pipe, 7, on the piston valve, 15, automatically moves said valve and the piston, 13, into position for simple operation, if they have not already been brought to that position by the adjustment of the valve handle. 7

- In the operation of compound locomotives in which steam is discharged from the high pressure cylinder or cylinders through a separate or emergency exhaust pipe, when the locomotive is working as a simple engine, the objection has been encountered that if it is allowed to drift or run with closed throttle, when the intercepting valve mechanism is in compound position, the movements of the low pressure piston or pistons unseat the intercepting valve and :put the separate exhaust passage in communication with the receiver. The effect of this opening of communication is to permit hot gases and cinders to be drawn from the smoke box, through the separate exhaust pipe, which then acts as a cinder collector, into the low pressure system, the objectionable result of which is manifest. In the operation of our invention, the intercepting valve mechanism being, as before described, automatically adjusted in position for simple operation, uponand throughout the period of closure of the throttle, the objectionable result above noted is entirely obviated, as communication .between the low pressure cylinders and the separate exhaust pipe-is cutiofl'.

We claim as our invention and desire tosecure byVLetters Patent:

1. In a compound enginesystem, an op: erating valvemechanism which is manually operable to effect either compound or simple adjustment, and automatically operable to effect simple adjustment, said mechanism comprehending a manually operable piston; a piston valve connected thereto, and adapted to admit pressure to, or exhaust it from, the intercepting valve of a compound engine; and means controlled by said piston valve, for automatically admitting pressure to the intercepting valve, by therelease of pressureon the piston resultant upon the closure of the throttle of the engine.

2. In a compound engine system, the combination of a valve casing; a piston fitting therein; a manually operable valve therein, controlling the supply and exhaust of motive fluid to and from said piston; and ,a piston valve connected to said piston and controlling the supply 'andexhaust of motive fluid to and from the operating Qpistonof an intercepting valve, said valve being automatically operable for supply bythe release of pressure upon the first specified'pistonresultant upon the closure of 'thethrottle of the engine.

3. In a compound enginesystem, the combination of a valve casing; apiston chamber therein; a manually operable valve con-v trolling the, supply and exhaust of motive fluid to and from said piston chamber; and a differential piston "mechanism, comprising a piston fitted in the pistonchamber and a connected pistonvalve controlling "the admission of pressure to the operating piston of an intercepting valve, said mechanism be ing automatically operable by boiler pressure upon the release of pressure in .thezpiston chamber resultanton the .closure of the throttle of theengine.

4. In a compound engine system, the combination of a valve casing; a piston fitted in a chamber therein ;,,a connected piston valve,

of smaller diameter, controlling the supply and exhaust of steam to and from the operating piston of an intercepting valve; a valve fitted in a chamber in the casing and controlling the supply and exhaust of motive fluid to and from the piston; a throttle controlled supply pipe opening into the valve chamber; and a continuously open fluid pressure supply pipe leading to the piston valve.

5. In a compound engine system, the combination of a valve casing; a piston fitted in a chamber therein; a connected piston, of smaller diameter, controlling the supply and exhaust of motive fluid to and from the operating piston of an intercepting valve; a valve, fitted in a chamber in the casing and controlling the supply and exhaust of steam, from the dry pipe of a boiler, to and from the larger piston; and a continuously open pipe, leading from the steam space of a boiler to the smaller piston.

6. In a compound engine system, the combination of a valve casing, comprising a connected piston chamber and valve cham her; a pipe leading from the dry pipe of a boiler to the valve chamber; a valve, fitted in the valve chamber and controlling the supply and exhaust of steam, from said pipe, to and from the piston chamber; a piston fitted in the piston chamber; a connected piston, of smaller diameter, fitted in a ported bushing connected to the piston chamber, and controlling upper and lower ports in said bushing; an exhaust pipe communicating with the upper ports; a pipe, leading from the lower ports to the operating piston of an intercepting valve; and a pipe leading from the steam space of a boiler to the smaller piston.

CHARLES F. PRESCOTT.

. HAL R. STAFFORD. Witnesses:

NELLIE MOAFEE,

V. A. STROUOKE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of 2mm, Washington, D. (2." 

